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Jesse Stefanovic
Jesse Stefanovic (born 1984) was a Canadian college student and was the editor of The Core at Toronto University. After he graduated in 2007, he gave the position to his ex-girlfriend Ellie Nash. He is portrayed by Steve Belford. Character History Season 6 Shortly after entering Toronto University student residence in Here Comes Your Man (2), Ellie wrote an editorial about roommates for the university newspaper, The Core, of which Jesse was the editor, and mentioned how weird her new roommate Amberley was, referring to her as the "Stepford Omarosa, minus the looks." She submitted it anonymously but Jesse published it with her name on it. To make it up to her, he agreed to allow her to write an article about the tuition rally. In True Colours, Ellie confronted Jesse about why her article about tuition costs was not in the final print of the newspaper. He responded that he did not publish it because it was filled with "rookie reporter mistakes." Ellie complained about how she put effort into doing the research for the article but everyone ignored her complaints. Later, Ellie approached Jesse, apologizing for screwing up, saying that she would do better if given another chance. Jesse told her that her article was lacking passion and that The Core did not have time for school projects. The two banter, and Jesse surprised her by asking her out to get a beer. After their date, the two went back to Ellie's house, appearing as if their date went well. Jesse leaned in and kisses Ellie on the left cheek, before leaving for the night. Marco Del Rossi saw this and joked, "Guess this means you’re officially over Craig." Ellie hit him with her newspaper and smiled. The next day, Ellie was surprised that she was assigned a great story, and Jesse's ex-girlfriend Nina commented that she only got the story because she is the "nubile, eager frosh that Jessie gets it on with." At her house, Ellie cooked a big meal to take her mind off it. She sought Marco's advice on what to do, telling him that she was being treated "like the new Core tramp" because Jesse had given her a plum music assignment. Marco said, "So you got to choose. Ellie, self-respect or Jesse. It sounds like a pretty easy call." Ellie reminded him that Jesse was very handsome, meaning that it was not an easy call. Marco told her that the Devil was "way cut...Brad Pitt cute" and not to sell out because of a pretty face. Ellie sarcastically said, "Thank you, Father Marco." However, she followed his advice. She exchanged her piece with her co-worker Eric for one about men's water polo, to Jesse's dismay. He later told her that he did not give Ellie the music piece to get her in pants, but because she loved music and that everyone else was busy. Jesse said that she was a good writer and that he could help the fact that he thought that she was cute. Ellie kissed him, and the two began a secret relationship, which they plan to keep hidden from their co-workers. In Eyes Without a Face (2), Ellie and her best friend Ashley Kerwin discussed the former's relationship with Jesse in Ellie's house. Ellie told her that Jesse was "cute, funny, um, sexy, smart, intimidatingly so" and that she did not know what he saw in her. Ashley reproachfully said, "Oh c'mon, El." Ellie revealed that she felt inexperienced compared to Jesse as he was 22 and she had only dated Marco and Sean and did not have sex with either of them. She objected to Ashley's use of the phrase "doing it" as she found the fact that she was still a virgin hugely embarrassing. Ashley advised her to talk to Jesse about having sex and to be prepared for when it happened, reminding her that there was a health clinic on the university campus. On the way out of the sexual health office, Ellie bumped into Jesse and she dropped the numerous birth control products that she was carrying. As Jesse helped her gather them up, an embarrassed Ellie explained that she had only wanted birth control literature for an article that she hoped to write but the woman in the office insisted that she take the products as well. Nina saw this and sneered at Ellie. The next day, Ellie pitched a series of articles about sexual health on campus, to the amusement of the other reporters, particularly Nina. Jesse rejected it as he felt that the readers of The Core were informed but Ellie continued pitching it until Jesse told her that it was dead. She later told Jesse that she wanted to both resign from the paper and end their relationship. She accused Jesse for just watching while she made a "complete ass" of herself. He told that he was trying to spare her further embarrassment but she kept going on and on. Jesse then asked her why she needed so much birth control and she began blushing. He said that she was cute when she was mortified. Ellie joked, "Well, remind me to mortify myself more often." He told her that they needed to have a talk about the future of their relationship. They then kissed. Ellie presumably lost her virginity to Jesse shortly thereafter. In Working for the Weekend, Ellie and Jesse encouraged Jimmy to sell his designs. In What's It Feel Like To Be a Ghost? (1), Ellie and Jesse attended Craig's gig together. They later had dinner with Craig, Marco, Manny Santos and Dylan Michalchuk. In What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost? (2), Ellie was preparing to interview Craig about his life as a musician for The Core. She mentioned to Jesse that she had found the coke on Craig's bedroom floor and was annoyed when he assumed that it belonged to Craig. She told him that Craig had claimed that it belonged to Manny, whom she described as a “toxic influence.” However, Jesse was not convinced. He told an excited Ellie that he had arranged for her to interview Taking Back Sunday and they kissed. Craig then entered the office, telling Ellie that he did not have time for the interview at the moment as he had to clear out Joey's garage since he and Angela were moving to Calgary. Ellie said that she would help and assured Jesse that she would be on time to interview Taking Back Sunday. In Joey's garage, Ellie interviewed him and he confided in her that he had expected everything to be the same when he returned but all of his old friends were moving on. Ellie said that she would always be there for him. She then received a text from Jesse, who told her that Taking Back Sunday were waiting for her. She brought Craig along and introduced him to the band, who asked him to perform the following night during a break in their set. Before she could continue her interview with Craig, he left to tell Manny. Much to Jesse's annoyance, Ellie was also unable to finish her interview with the band due to Craig's presence. Jesse again told her that Craig was a drug addict and said, “You know what's really wrong? The fact that Craig keeps crapping on you, and you keep going back for more!” Craig and Ellie later kissed, meaning that she cheated on Jeese. In The Bitterest Pill, Ashley tried to convince Ellie to tell Jesse about her kiss with Craig, but she thought she would lose him if she did. At the office, Jesse gave her coupons and said that he loved her, which made Ellie admit her kiss. He was not angry and revealed that he fooled around with a girl at a bar. After a fight, Ellie ignored him but after a talk with Jimmy about love, the pair reconciled with Ellie admitting that she loved him too. In Love My Way, Ellie and Jesse attended the going away party that Marco threw for Dylan, who was moving to Switzerland to play for Zurich Hockey Club. Jesse invited Ellie to dance but she refused as she did not like dancing. They began to argue about it as she felt that Jesse was implying that she was boring. She told him that she did not want to fight about it at the party as it was embarrassing. The next day at the Core office, Jesse asked her why she shot him down every time that he made a joke or brought up a story idea. When he accused her of being very negative, she told him that she did not want to argue anymore as it was all they had done for weeks. She suggested that they end their relationship before they ruined what was left of it. Jesse agreed and told her that he would see at the next staff meeting. Jesse then began a "friends with benefits" relationship with Paige. In Sunglasses at Night, Ellie gave Paige her permission to date Jesse but Paige told Marco that "when Ellie gave her the green light to date her ex, she'd say she was just a touch color-blind." The next day, Paige and Ellie began arguing over which of them would get Dylan's room. Ellie had had her eye on it but Dylan had given it to his sister. When Ellie suggested that they should have put it to a vote, Paige told her that she was not a big fan of democracy. Paige then asked Marco to tell her that he did not mind if she took Dylan's room while Ellie, referring to Paige as "Princess Always Gets Her Way," warned him not to let her bully or manipulate him as she had a way with men. Paige pointed out that Ellie and Jesse had broken up and asked Marco to talk some sense of her. However, Marco, who was once again playing online poker, had had enough and told them to shut up. He then said, "I’m not going to referee your catfight about the room, or Jesse, or anything! Just work it out yourselves." In Don't You Want Me? (1), Marco complimented the appetizers that Paige made for her housewarming party and Ellie quipped, "She's just a culinary wizard, I guess. Even the Devil has her fine points." An exasperated Marco reminded her that she told Paige that he was alright if she dated Jesse. However, Ellie told him that it bugged her and she could not help it. Marco said that there were plenty more fish in the sea and suggested that they go to a club to meet guys but Ellie was not enthusiastic about doing so. In Don't You Want Me? (2), Ellie followed Marco's advice and they went to a club. Ellie asked him if he tipped the server or if he still had to repay his father for the money that he stole. Marco responded, "Tip I did, gloomy one. I also have one for you. When boy hunting, try to look like you’re having fun." Jesse, who had broken up with Paige as they had nothing in common, then walked up to them and Ellie was delighted to see him. He told her that she looked great. The next morning, Marco knocked on Ellie's door and told her that they had class in half an hour. He opened the door and saw that she and Jesse were in bed together. She tried to hide Jesse but Marco left immediately. Season 7 In Standing In The Dark (2), Marco visited The Core to get a textbook from Ellie and began chatting with Eric, one of her co-workers who was also gay and had a crush on Marco. Ellie told Jesse that Marco kept "holding onto a guy who treats him like crap" and she suggested that they set him up with Marco. Jesse advised her to mind her own business. In any event, he believed that since Marco was loyal to a fault, he would never let her set him up with Eric. Ellie said that this meant that they would just have to be sneaky. When Marco returned home that evening, he found that Ellie and Jesse had invited Eric over for pizza. Ellie awkwardly told Jesse that she wanted to show him "the thing" and they left them alone. Marco was irritated that they had set him up like that. When Eric said that he thought that there was something between them, Marco told him that there was: Dylan, his boyfriend. Eric got the message and promptly left. In Death or Glory (2), Ellie and Jesse were going to a Chuck Klosterman lecture together. Marco, who was feeling lonely, asked them if they had any more tickets. Jesse told him that it was free but Marco realized that they wanted to be alone. Ellie looked at him apologetically as they left. Two days later, Paige asked Marco if Ellie was still cheating on him with her boyfriend and Marco told her that she was. In Jessie's Girl, Ellie had written an article about a tuition hike at Toronto University which was to have been the lead story on the next issue of The Core. However, Jesse pulled it when he arranged for Bill Nye to give a talk about climate change. Ellie was extremely annoyed by this but Jesse convinced her to go along with it, though she was dissatisfied that she was relegated to writing the horoscopes. Bill Nye had to cancel and the paper was left without a lead story. Although Jesse suggested publishing Ellie's story, she used her relationship with her mentor Caitlin Ryan to get the famous journalist to give a talk on her newly released environmental film Storm of Controversy. Jesse was thrilled that he would get the chance to interview Caitlin, though she informed him that she wanted Ellie to conduct the Q&A due to their history together. Jesse was extremely annoyed by this so, to appease him, Ellie gave him her ticket to the Dean's Ball that night. In her house, Ellie was having difficulty preparing her notes for the interview the next day as Griffin was having a party. As the party became even noisier, Ellie decided to do her work in The Core. When she arrived at the office, she was shocked to find Jesse and Caitlin having sex. The next morning, Jesse tried to apologize to her but she said that she wanted to break up. After he managed to manipulate her into continuing their relationship, she told him that she was going to quit the paper as she did not want people talking about them. As Paige helped her to pick out an outfit for the interview, she confided in her that Jesse and Caitlin had hooked up. When Paige commented that she did not know why either of them had dated Jesse, Ellie told her that she was still with Jesse but had quit The Core. Paige thought that this was a very bad idea and that there were times when she had to choose her professional career over her love life as the interview with Caitlin was a great opportunity for her. At the reception, Ellie drank three glasses of wine and became drunk. During the interview, she mentioned that Caitlin had been raising controversy while traveling through Canada, giving Jesse a pointed look as she said it. She then asked Caitlin if the responsible consumption that she encouraged in the film applied to alcohol consumption. Both Caitlin and the audience were confused by the question since it had nothing to do with climate change. As Caitlin tried to cover, Ellie bluntly asked, "Why did you hook up with Jesse? Why?" She then asked him, "And how was it, Jesse? Was it worth it?" Before waiting for an answer, she called Caitlin a slut and stormed out. At breakfast the next morning, Ellie was drinking coffee and asked Marco to lower his voice. He realized that she was hungover and reminded her that they had talked about her inability to handle alcohol. Caitlin then entered and demanded an explanation for why she had humiliated her in public. Ellie revealed that Jesse was her boyfriend. Caitlin had no idea and apologized, saying that she would have never slept with Jesse if she had known. Caitlin was astonished when Ellie said that she had quit The Core to save her relationship with Jesse. She told Ellie that she had the potential to become a great journalist and not to let a "freshman romance" stand in the way of her future. Ellie followed her advise and returned to The Core. Jesse was surprised to see her there and said, "Well, I'm just glad you're back, Frosh, and I promise I will never cheat on you again." Ellie irritably responded, "I'm back at The Core, not with you...And from now on, call me 'Ellie.'" A shamefaced Jesse sat down at his desk as Ellie smirked slightly. In Owner of a Lonely Heart, Ellie was having a hard time getting over Jesse. While at a club, she complained to Marco that he was acting as if nothing had happened between them as he was grinning when she walked into The Core. Ellie realized that he was not listening and asked him to buy her a calamari. The next day, they went clothes shopping and she again discussed Jesse with Marco. She was annoyed that he was now on Facebook and wanted "random play." In Don't Stop Believin', Ellie excitedly told Marco that Jesse had placed her name on the shortlist to become editor-in-chief for the next year. While she was certain that Eric would get the position, she was still glad as it meant that she had a good shot at becoming assistant editor. The next day, Jesse announced over a webcam that Ellie was the new editor-in-chief. Ellie was shocked and delighted while Eric was extremely upset. At Marco's insistence, Ellie discussed the situation with Eric. She reflected that it had not gone the way that they expected but that The Core would be nothing without Eric, offering him the assistant editorship. Eric then suggested that it had gone exactly the way that she expected and implied that she got the position because she had slept with Jesse. Ellie was extremely offended by this. Mentions Season 8 In Degrassi Goes Hollywood, when Ellie was staying with Craig in Los Angeles, she apparently told him about Jesse and Caitlin's affair as Craig said, "I can't believe your ex slept with Caitlin." He and Ellie both found it disgusting. Appearances Quotes *Jesse: "Uh, next pitch. Ellie?" Ellie: "Uh, okay. Um, as most of you know and love to bug me about, I'm a first year and I'm a little fascinated by that office down the hall." Nina: "The sexual health office?" Ellie: "Um, so following in the great though fictional steps of Carrie Bradshaw, I'd like to pitch a series on sexual health on campus." (Everyone starts laughing) Jesse: "Pass. Next?" Ellie: "Hang on, I've done research." Jesse: "It's okay. We get it. Next." Ellie: "I, I just um I think it's important that, that we're all informed about sex." Jesse: "Our readers are informed, Frosh." Ellie: "But..." Jesse: "It's dead, okay? Stop pitching it. Freddie, what do you got?" - Eyes Without a Face (2) *Ellie: "I want to resign from the paper and us, so goodbye." Jesse: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Can't we discuss this?" Ellie: "Jesse, I just made a complete ass of myself and you sat there with Nina and watched." Jesse: "No, I did not. I was trying to help you. Why do you think I was trying to stop you? You just keep going and going and going." Ellie: "I do have that tendency." Jesse: "What were you doing with all that stuff anyway? I mean, how much birth control do you need?" Ellie: "Jesse, don't. It’s not funny at all." Jesse: "You know you're, uh, cute when you're mortified." Ellie: "Well, remind me to mortify myself more often." Jesse: "Remind me we need to have a talk about us, where we're going. That is, if there still is an us." Ellie: "Resignation cancelled." Jesse: "Good 'cause I wasn't going to accept it anyway. You're stuck with me, Frosh, for a long time I hope." (They kiss) - Eyes Without a Face (2) *Ellie: "Sorry...about bringing Craig to the interview. It was unprofessional." Jesse: "That's okay. Where is Craig anyway? Thought you'd be interviewing him." Ellie: "He bailed on me. Went off to party with Little Miss Manny." Jesse: "Probably jonesing for coke." Ellie: "Nice." Jesse: "Look my best friend used to be an addict, okay? I can see the signs pretty clearly." Ellie: "You can’t see anything clearly. Not when it comes to Craig. Jealous much?" Jesse: "I’m not jealous of some failed singer/songwriter loser that you're still crushing on. It's pathetic." Ellie: "That is wrong on so many levels." Jesse: "You know what's really wrong? The fact that Craig keeps crapping on you and you keep going back for more!" - What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost? (2) *Jesse: "Well, I'm just glad you're back, Frosh, and I promise I will never cheat on you again." Ellie: "I'm back at The Core, not with you...And from now on, call me 'Ellie.'" - Jessie's Girl Trivia *Jesse is the first character to be nicknamed "Emo Boy." The other two were Eli and Sav. *According to Ellie in Jessie's Girl, Caitlin was on his Freebie Five list. *Jesse was Ellie's only love interest who was not a regular character. *Ellie was still in love with Craig throughout her relationship with Jesse. *Jesse is the oldest student character to appear in Degrassi: The Next Generation. *With Jessie's Girl, Jesse is the only male or non-regular character outside of The Kids of Degrassi Street to have his name in an episode title. The only other characters to have their names in an episode title are Stephanie Kaye in Kiss Me, Steph and Jane Vaughn in Jane Says (1) and Jane Says (2). Relationships *Nina **Start Up: 1 year before True Colours (603) **Break Up: 1 year before True Colours (603) ***Reason: Unknown. *Ellie Nash **First Relationship: ***Start Up: True Colours (603) ***Broke Up: Love My Way (616) ****Reason: Both Ellie and Jesse were unhappy after constant fighting. **Second Relationship: ***Start Up: Don't You Want Me? (2) (619) ***Broke Up: Jessie's Girl (708) ****Reason: Jesse cheated on Ellie with Caitlin Ryan, Ellie's mentor. *Paige Michalchuk **Start Up: Love My Way (616) **Broke Up: Don't You Want Me? (1) (618) ***Reason: Paige believed that she had nothing in common with Jesse. Interaction Category:Degrassi: The Next Generation Category:Degrassi: TNG characters Category:Degrassi: TNG adults Category:Male Characters Category:Recurring Characters Category:Season 6 Category:Season 7